Hansel and Gretel

Retold By: Roberto Piumini

Illustrated By: Anna Laura Cantone

Italian author, Roberto Piumini in collaboration with illustrator Anna Laura Cantone, have created a version of Hansel and Gretel that is light, humorous, and perfect for young readers.  Piumini tells the story using simple language.  For example, “A few weeks later, the witch felt the twig again and became impatient.  “That’s it!” she said.  “Whether you are fat or thin, I’m going to eat you right now.  Light the fire, Gretel!”” This in comparison to a version of the Brothers Grimm, “When four weeks had gone by, and Hansel still remained thin, she was seized with impatience and would not wait any longer. "Now, then, Gretel," she cried to the girl, "stir yourself, and bring some water. Let Hansel be fat or lean, to-morrow I will kill him, and cook him."”

Piumini also makes the tale a little less harsh for young readers.  For example, when Gretel shoves the witch into the oven, Piumini writes, “But as soon she opened the door, Gretel shoved the witch into the oven and trapped her inside forever.”  Again, in comparison to a version of the Brothers Grimm, “Then Gretel gave her a push that drove her far into it, and shut the iron door, and fastened the bolt. Oh. Then she began to howl quite horribly, but Gretel ran away, and the godless witch was miserably burnt to death. Gretel, however, ran like lightning to Hansel, opened his little stable, and cried, "Hansel, we are saved. The old witch is dead."”

Accompanying the text are Anna Laura Cantone’s interesting and cartoon-like illustrations.  Hansel and Gretel are drawn with big round eyes, huge noses, rectangle bodies, and tiny hands and feet.  These illustrations set more of a humorous tone to the book and help the reader to feel safe.  The witch, although given a more evil appearance, is quite funny looking with her huge nose, tiny teeth, feet, and arms, gigantic body, and hairy legs. 

In reading information about Cantone, I found out that her illustrations are a combination of acrylic, pencil and collage.  I did not notice the collage aspect of her illustrations until I went back and relooked at them.  Although there is not a ton, she did include what looks to be sandpaper, rope, and beads incorporated in her illustrations.  She also uses two lines around her characters.  The black line is to define the character and the red line is to give a vibrant effect.  It was interesting to find out the purpose of these lines.  Overall, these visual effects give her illustrations three-dimensional appeal that will engage and interest young readers.

In the back of the book, Piumini extends the fairytale by including a glossary, discussion questions, and directions for how to write your own fairytale.  I thought the directions Piumini gave for writing a fairytale were clear and easy to understand.  It will give direction to young readers who are inspired to write their own fairytales!

Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs: A Tale From the Brothers Grimm

Translated By: Randall Jarrell

Illustrated By: Nancy Ekholm Burkert

The German version of Snow White collected by the Brothers Grimm is one of the best-known versions of the classic tale.  The Brothers Grimm version featured some of the well-known elements of Snow White such as the magic mirror and the seven dwarfs.  The Brothers Grimm version, translated into English by Randall Jarrell, begins with the story of how Snow White came to be.  “Once it was the middle of winter, and the snowflakes fell from the sky like feathers.  At a window with a frame of ebony a queen sat and sewed.  And as she sewed and looked out at the snow, she pricked her finger with the needle, and three drops of blood fell in the snow.  And in the white snow the red looked so beautiful that she thought to herself: “If only I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood in the window frame!””  The story continues as with the main plot being what we would expect—the Queen dies, the father remarries an evil step-mother, and the mother plots to kill Snow White because she is envious and jealous of her beauty.

Since this version is a literal translation of the Brothers Grimm version, it is certainly authentic.  Jarrell even chose to leave in the original Grimm ending, where the stepmother had to put on red-hot slippers and dance till she dropped down dead.  This ending leaves a bit of a different taste than the Disney version of, “And they lived happily ever after.”  Although the evil stepmother got what she deserved, it for some reason seemed more horrifying of a death than the three that Snow White had faced—perhaps it was because we knew she would survive all along.

What is interesting about this version of Snow-White is that Jarrell and illustrator Burkert alternated between side-by-side pages of strictly text, and double-paged, full-bleed illustrations.  The only time they did not use this technique was in the very beginning of the story when the illustration of Snow White’s mother is on the left page and the text beginning the story is on the right.  Since so much happened in the story on the pages with text, it was interesting to turn the page and see what details Burkert decided to focus on for her illustrations.  For example, Jarrell groups the events of the dwarfs saving Snow-White from the lacing that is tied to tight, the stepmother coming back to kill Snow-White with a poisoned comb, her coming back to life again, and the stepmother devising a plan to make a poisoned apple all in one spread.  Burkert chose to focus on the stepmother creating the poisoned apple in her next illustration. 

The intricate details of the beautiful illustrations will capture the interest of readers and have them spending just as much time looking at the pictures as they do reading the text.  The first illustration is when Snow-White is running through the woods—never to return home to her evil stepmother.  The page is completely saturated with muted shades of brown, black, blue, and yellow.  Our attention is drawn to Snow-White as her brightly colored yellow and blue dress stand out against the otherwise dreary forest.  The animals all seem curious as to why she is in the forest, but none seem to bother her.  They all seem to be running away—as if sensing the danger she carries with her.

As we are introduced to the seven dwarfs, there is a wider variety of color used in the illustrations.  Although never bright, the colors are less muted than they were previously.  This seems to signify that Snow-White is safe and happy with her new found life with the dwarfs.  Burkert continues to vary her color palate in order to reflect the happiness or sadness that we are to feel.  The illustrations are widely framed and leave only about a centimeter outside of the picture.  This allows readers to feel emotionally drawn in to each scene—yet gives readers a little bit of distance in order to feel safe. 

Although I think the illustrations along with this version of the story may be a bit frightful for children, illustrator Nancy Ekholm Burkert won the Caldecott Honor for her illustrations in this book.  Kirkus Reviews, as found on Amazon called the collaboration between Randall Jarrell and Burkert, “a sort of legend even before its time of publication.”  An Amazon review states, “Burkert’s illustrations are magical, light-filled creations that more than earn the book its Caldecott Honor Book status…This is an unforgettable interpretation of a well-loved story.” 

The Van Gogh Cafe

Written By: Cynthia Rylant

The Van Gogh Cafe is a place filled with magic.  It is a place where dreams come true and broken hearts can mend.  Marc, the Cafe’s owner, and Clara, his daughter, believe that each day will bring new magic to the Van Gogh Cafe, and they are always right. 

Rylant starts this work of fantasy with a strong lead, “The Van Gogh Cafe sits on Main Street in Flowers, Kansas, and the building it is in was once a theater which may be the reason for its magic.  Anyone who has ever seen anything happen on a stage—anything—knows that a theater is so full of magic that after years and years of opening nights there must be magic enough to last forever in its walls.”  It is hard to imagine not turning to the next page and continue reading after the introduction of the magical place.  Readers cannot help but wonder, what is so magical about this place?  What happens there?

Another interesting style Rylant uses throughout this piece is that she ends each chapter with a statement that leads us to the main purpose of the next chapter.  For example, on page 21, Rylant ends the chapter with, “But they’re nothing compared to magic muffins….” When you turn the page, the next chapter is titled, “Magic Muffins.”  She does this with every chapter except for the last one, entitled, “The Writer.”  

As with her other stories, Rylant uses very descriptive language.  For example, I am able to visualize the magic muffins on page 22 when she writes, “The muffins are inside the little foil package, of course, which Marc has unwrapped.  Tiny muffins, gumdrop muffins, they are charming…. “Like shells,” Clara says.”  The magic of the cafe comes alive through Rylant’s descriptions—we almost feel as though we are there in the cafe experiencing the magic for ourselves.

In addition to using descriptive language, Rylant also uses simplistic language that is poetic, yet very easy to understand.  For example, on page 14, Rylant writes,  “So she waits.  She eats a lot of pie and she waits.  Something else is bound to happen eventually.”  By using short sentences, Rylant is able to put emphasis on what is important in the sentence—the fact that the girl is waiting.  Even in longer sentences like this one, “Magic is a powerful word and often misused.  Some say magic comes from heaven, and others say it comes from hell, but anyone who has ever visited the Van Gogh Café knows that magic comes from a building that was once a theater; from a sign above a cash register that reads BLESS ALL DOGS; from a smiling porcelain hen on top of a pie carousel; from purple hydrangeas painted all over a ladies’ bathroom; from a small brown phonograph that plays “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To,” the language is simple, yet powerful and descriptive.

The magic in Rylant’s, The Van Gogh Cafe is contagious.  Visitors to the Cafe believe in its magic, and readers cannot help but get caught up in the hopes and dreams that the Van Gogh Cafe inspires.   

Tomie dePaola's Big Book of Favorite Legends

Collection Written By: Tomie dePaola

Tomie dePaola’s collection consists of four of his previously written legends.  The first tale, The Legend of the Bluebonnet: An Old Tale of Texas, tells how the Texas state flower, bluebonnet, came to grow in the wild.   The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush: An Old Tale of Wyoming, is a similar tale to Bluebonnet; however, it is about how the red, orange, yellow, and pink Indian Paintbrush wildflowers that bloom throughout Wyoming.  The third tale, The Legend of the Poinsettia: An Old Tale of Mexico, is about how the beautiful red flowers, the poinsettias, became a symbol of Christmas.  Lastly, the fourth and most humorous tale, Tony’s Bread: An Old Tale of Italy, is about how the traditional Italian sweet bread, panettone, came to be.

dePaola includes an author’s note for each tale that provides some background information on each legend.  He mentions how he took the greatest liberties with Tony’s Bread because it is such a widely varied tale to begin with.  dePaola does not necessarily go into great detail about how he researched each tale.  He is not a cultural insider to the first three legends, but does mention how he heard of each one.  Due to the lack of “authentic” source notes, I cannot be entirely sure that dePaola’s stories accurately reflect the cultures they are derived from.  

The language and plot of each legend is simple and easy to understand.  dePaola does incorporate Spanish into the Legend of the Poinsettia and Italian into the tale, Tony’s Bread.  In both cases, not knowing the words either does not affect the understanding the meaning of the story or, the words are defined.  For example, in Tony’s Bread, Angelo states, “Who is that lovely creature sitting at that window?  Che bella donna!—What a beautiful woman!”  In another example in Legend of the Poinsettia, dePaola ends the legend with this, “And every Christmas to this day, the red stars shine on top of green branches in Mexico.  The people call the plants la Flor de Nochebuena—the Flower of the Holy Night—the poinsettia.”

dePaola has illustrated over 200 children’s book in his career.  In any illustrated book of his that I have read, his style remains relatively constant.  In the first three legends, his style leans towards expressionistic and representational.  The figures lack great detail, but they are drawn proportionately and can be easily identified as being realistic people.  In Tony’s Bread, his style is more that of expressionistic and naïve/folk artbecause the characters tend to lack proportion and are childlike.  I think his style helps remind readers that these legends are fictional.  The characters lack a lot of emotional depth, which prevent readers from connecting with the characters on a deeper level.    He tends to use a wide palette of color and varies between full-bleed illustrations completely saturated in color and framed illustrations surrounded by the white of the page. 

Overall, dePaola’s collection is sure to please any reader.  The legends are interesting and make you think, “Ahh, so that is why the state flower of Texas is the bluebonnet!”  My personal favorite in the collection is Tony’s Bread because it was light and humorous.  Also, my Italian grandmother serves panettone every Christmas, so it was interesting to read the story behind the bread! 

Run, Boy, Run

Written By: Uri Orlev

Translated By: Hillel Halkin

Uri Orlev did not have an easy childhood.  He was born in Warsaw, Poland and was forced to hide in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II because he was Jewish.  He hid with his mother and younger brother from 1939-1941, but when the Nazis killed his mother, he and his brother went to Bergen-Belsen—a concentration camp.  He managed to survive the war, and now lives in Israel.  Uri Orlev has written many stories of his own past, but Run, Boy, Run is the true story of another young boy who also survived the Warsaw ghetto during World War II.  It is a story that moved Uri Orlev to tears when he first heard it—and a story that Orlev was inspired to tell.

Orlev writes from the perspective of an eight year-old boy, Srulik, who is eventually forced to change his name and lose his identity in order to survive.  Orlev brings to light the realities of the war.  For example, early on, Srulik describes how he and his mother had to search for food in the garbage.  “When his arms didn’t reach all the way into the garbage, he used a stick or a broken board.  He looked for peels of potatoes, carrots, beets, and apples and sometimes found old, moldy bread.  Everything went in a straw basket that he handed to his mother.  At home, she picked out what was edible and cooked it.  Although each family member received food rations, these were too small to keep them alive.” 

The story tells of Srulik’s struggle to survive.  At one point, Srulik got his arm trapped in a machine when he was working.  He was brought to a hospital and needed surgery.  After examining Srulik, a young surgeon said, “I’m not operating on this boy…Because he’s a Jew.”  Because the surgeon would not operate on Srulik, he ended up having to get his arm amputated.  After this happens, readers are left wondering how Srulik can possibly survive with only one arm.  Things are hard enough having both.

Having lived through many hardships himself, Urlev was able to captivate readers in through this compelling story.  He incorporated many details that make the setting real and believable.  After reading his account of someone else’s experience in WWII, I am intrigued to learn of his.  Run, Boy, Run is the 2004 winner of the Mildred L. Batchelder Award, which is presented to outstanding books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country and later translated into English and published in the United States.  

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Written By: John Green & David Levithan

Will Grayson, Will Grayson, written by John Green and David Levithan, is a realistic fiction novel about two boys, both named Will Grayson, attempting to find their place in the world as they both struggle through high school.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson, is written with a unique format and style.  I cannot think of any books that I have read that are written by two different authors.  Green and Levithan decided to each write half of the book in alternating chapters.  They even split the title—with John choosing the last name of Grayson and David choosing the first name of Will.  John Green wrote the perspective of Will Grayson, the teenager who wanted nothing more than to blend in with his surroundings, but could not possibly do so while being best-friends with Tiny Cooper who is, “Not the world’s gayest person, and he is not the world’s largest person, but I believe he may be the world’s largest person who is really, really gay, and also the world’s gayest person who is really, really large.”   David Levithan wrote from the perspective of the other Will Grayson—the one who was sad, depressed, and dealing with his homosexuality.

David Levithan’s writing style is particularly interesting.  Levithan writes the entire narrative without ever capitalizing a single word.  I believe this helps readers to sense Grayson’s depression—that he is so indifferent to feeling that he does not even bother to use the shift key on the computer.  Levithan, for the most part, does not have Grayson interact with others, which authenticates his loneliness.  The most social communication Grayson has is through Instant Messenger or Facebook and is with a boy named Isaac that he has never met.

John Greene presents his Will Grayson differently.    He incorporates a lot of dialogue between Grayson, his best friend Tiny, and a girl named Jane.  Grayson does seem as though he is trying to find his place in the world, but is not as depressed as the other Grayson.  Grayson abides by two simple rules: “1.  Don’t care too much, and 2. Shut up.  Everything unfortunate that has ever happened to me has stemmed from failure to follow one of the rules.”  Throughout the story, we witness how these rules affect the relationships between Grayson and his peers and how he starts to realize he needs to change his rules if he is going to survive through life.

Finding your place in the world is something that I think all teenagers can relate to.  Regardless of whether or not you are the football captain, head cheerleader, chess extraordinaire, thespian, prep, nerd, etc., everyone in high school struggles to figure out what they really want out of life.  It is all a part of growing up and enables us to be ready to move on when the time comes.  The story can also provide hope for those who are lost.  Both Grayson characters developed throughout the course of the story.  They realized that life did not have to be so difficult and that having good friends was more important than anything.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson received the 2011 Stonewall Honor Award in the category of children’s and young adult literature.  The Stonewall award is presented to books that have exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered experience.  This book certainly took me out of my comfort zone in terms of books that I typically choose to read and I must admit, that it was difficult to get through the first section of the book because quite honestly, I couldn’t handle all of the negativity and moodiness.   As the story progressed and I got to know the characters and their perspectives better, I enjoyed reading the book and looked forward to how it would end.  Greene and Levithan brought to light the realities that young adults face today and the determination and support needed in order to make it through what can be some of the most difficult years of their lives.

Messenger

Written by: Lois Lowry

Although Gathering Blue was the second book in The Giver trilogy, it did not satisfy my yearning for a book that continued where The Giver left off.  I wanted to know what happened to Jonas and Gabe.  I only found out on the last few pages of Gathering Blue that Jonas was alive and living in a new community called the Village.  Messenger, written by Lois Lowry, is the final book in The Giver trilogy and ties the characters and stories from both The Giver and Gathering Blue together.

Messenger focuses on the story of Matty, the same young boy who had supported Kira when nobody else would in Gathering Blue.  Kira’s father, Seer, who has been given his name due to his ability to see in spite of his blindness, has taken in Matty as his own.  In the six years that have passed since leaving his own community and coming to the village with Seer, Matty has become much more refined and educated.  In fact, he holds a very special job in the Village—he delivers important messages through the forest.

What I found interesting about Messenger is that the Village did not seem to be utopic or dystopic.  Although it was obvious the book was set in the future, some aspects of the setting seemed closer to reality and more believable.  For example, those who ended up in the Village were those who had escaped from another society that had been unaccepting.  Many had physical ailments.  For example, the Mentor in the Village had a large birthmark along the side of his face and a hunched back.  All members of the Village were kind to each other and willing to help one another.  Of course, the book did include plenty of fantasy.  The forest came alive and characters had special magical gifts.

As hoped for, we find out what happens to Jonas.  Jonas reappears in this story as Leader.  The story briefly recounts his arrival and his importance to the Village.  “In the Museum’s glass cases there were shoes and canes and bicycles and a wheeled chair.  But somehow the small red-painted sled had become a symbol of courage and hope.  Leader was young but he represented those things.  He had never tried to go back, never wanted to.  This was his home now, these his people.  As he did every afternoon, he stood at the window and watched.  His eyes were a pale, piercing blue.”

After finishing the trilogy, I suppose the question becomes—should Lois Lowry ever have continued The Giver?  I find this a difficult question to answer.  In a way, I am glad I got to read two more science fiction books by Lois Lowry.  On the other hand, however, The Giver is a masterpiece that stands alone.  When I first completed The Giver, I wanted to know how things ended for Jonas.  I had so many questions I wanted answered.  I am sure that anyone who has ever read the book has countless questions as well.  It took Lowry seven years before she decided to write Gathering Blue and to finish the trilogy.  I believe that both books were beautifully written, but none could replace, or come even close to the power of The Giver.  I just did not feel the same emotional connection with the characters in Gathering Blue and Messenger as I did with The Giver.  I suppose I am mostly disappointed because the story did not end the way I imagined it.  I was hoping to not only find out what happened to Jonas and Gabe, but for their life to continue.  Although we did learn more about Jonas in Messenger, I feel like again, I am left with many unanswered questions.

The whole point of science fiction, however, is to leave readers with unanswered questions and to make readers think about what could be if the world continues on certain paths.  Overall, I think Lowry is an incredible author and I enjoyed reading both Gathering Blue and Messenger.  I am glad that I read all three and have closure for at least what happened to Jonas—but there is still much left to figure out. 

All three books show the growth of a young child coming to realize that something is wrong with society and change needs to take place.  In each story, it is a child that has the special gifts needed to make change.  Children are the future and we are counting on them to develop critical thinking skills and to make moralistic decisions that will lead our society in the right direction.  Lowry reminds us all of the dangers of what can happen if we take things too far.